Plainsmen continue the fight as they near subdistricts

By Becky Uehling 

Grant Tribune-Sentinel 

The Perkins County boys went up against Alliance, a more experienced Class B team, at home on Thursday, Feb. 8. The Bulldogs outperformed the Plainsmen, beating them 70-46. 

According to Head Coach Todd Kraus, ball security was a big issue for the Plainsmen throughout the game.  

“Early on in the game we missed a lot of key opportunities,” he said. “The first three possessions should have resulted in scores.” 

The Bulldogs were up by 13 before the Plainsmen put points on the board at 3 minutes with a field goal by Nolan Foster. Field goals by freshman Colton Kroeker and sophomore Jackson Wykert would round out the scoring for Perkins County in the first quarter, with Alliance leading 20 to 6. 

Heading into the second quarter, Alliance was again first on the board. A Blake Garner assist to Rylee Schrotberger would start the scoring at the 4:26 mark. The next points were put up by Dawson Tjaden after an assist by Ryder Potts under the basket at 2:10. These, along with two field goals by Tjaden and Wykert, would be the only points for the Plainsmen in the quarter, compared to 17 put up by the Bulldogs. The half ended 37-15, Alliance. 

Alliance’s good ball handling, along with a scrappy and fast defense, continued to challenge the Plainsmen in the second half.  

“Their defense pressured us,” Kraus said, saying the Plainsmen’s offense slowed because of the pressure, with tweaking needed.  

The Plainsmen broke open the scoring in the third quarter, however, with a field goal by Potts at 6:48. Perkins County went on to produce most of their points for the game during the third quarter. However, Alliance stayed one step ahead with the quarter ending of 57-32, Alliance. 

Assists from Potts to Wykert and Foster to Garner for two points each started the fourth quarter within two minutes of play. Then it was Alliance’s turn. The Bulldogs answered the Plainsmen with four field goals of their own by just under the 4:30 mark, bringing the score to 68-36, Bulldogs.  

Perkins County had several opportunities at the free-throw line from 4 minutes to the end of the game, with Foster, Garner and Wykert capitalizing on the opportunity and adding six of the team’s total 14 points for the quarter from there. Also adding field goals during the quarter were Wykert, Garner and Schrotberger. In the end, however, it would not be enough with Alliance taking the win.  

“They (Alliance) have a lot of kids that handle the ball well and made us chase them,” Kraus said.  

Kraus also commented that the Bulldogs shot the ball the best they have all season, dumping in several three-pointers. The Bulldogs were 52 percent from the three-point line, making 36 of their total 70 points from there.  

“They shot the ball really well,” he said. “Playing our defense, along with effort and execution, will alleviate some of those pains.” 

Overall, though, Kraus praised the Plainsmen for fighting hard against an older, stronger team. 

For the game, it was Garner leading in points with 13, followed by Wykert, 11, Tjaden, 6, Kroeker, 5, Schrotberger, 4, Foster and Potts each with 3, and Landon Noyes, 1.  

Leading in assists was Potts with 3, Garner, 2, and Noyes and Will Long each with 1.  

Leading in points for Alliance was Nicholas Waldron with 21 points, followed by Tristen Timbers with 13, and Kysen Walker with 11.  

Bayard 

 It came down to an overtime fight between the Plainsmen and the Bayard Tigers on Feb. 7 with the Plainsmen securing the win from the free throw line, 59-57.  

The game was summed up by Coach Kraus as a tale of two halves for the Plainsmen—a well-played first half, and a second half that fell flat and almost cost Perkins County the game.  

Perkins County was the first to break open scoring in the game within the first minute of play with an assist from Wykert to Potts for three points. The Plainsmen went on to rack up 7 points before Bayard put any points on the board just within 4:30 minutes left in the quarter.  

The end of the quarter saw the Plainsmen with a healthy lead, sitting at 23-8. All of the Plainsmen’s starters got points during the first quarter when the team accumulated the most points for the game.   

Wykert and Potts again were the first ones to break open the scoring in the second quarter with Wykert making a trey off of a Potts’ assist at the 7 minute mark.  

The Plainsmen continued with their strong shooting and defensive play throughout the second quarter, causing several turnovers for Bayard. The Plainsmen went into the locker room at the half with a lead of 41-17. 

Then came the second half.  

“We shot the ball the better in the first half than we have all season,” Kraus said, “and we had a lot of energy defensively. Basically, we shut them down (in the first half),” Kraus said. “The second half we were flat.” 

Kraus went on to say that the Plainsmen failed to connect their shots in the second half, allowing Bayard to catch up.  

Within a minute of play during the third quarter, Garner sunk a free-throw after being fouled by Bayard’s Trystan Muhr. However, after that, Bayard would add three field-goals and a free-throw before Perkins County put any more points on the board with just under 4 minutes of play remaining. It was then that Garner hit the net from a Wykert assist. The only other points the Plainsmen would make during the quarter was a field goal by Foster to end the quarter 46-34, Plainsmen.  

Bayard made the first point in the fourth from the free-throw line, and continued racking up seven more points before the Plainsmen added any to their score. This would be just over the 3:30 minute mark when Potts assisted Foster who connected for a field goal. 

The Tigers continued to whittle away at their deficit, until, finally, with 2:25 left in the game, Trenton Marquez’s trey pushed Bayard one point ahead of the Plainsmen, 50-49, and Bayard took a time out.  

The two teams went back-and-forth after  as the clock got down to a minute of play, with Bayard holding a 2 point lead. However, with :18 seconds left, the Plainsmen’s Potts found Wykert open under the basket where he connected for 2 points, tying the game. An attempt by Bayard’s Connor Cochron for a field-goal with 5 seconds remaining failed, sending the teams into overtime.  

Over the next four minutes, between fouls, free-throws and turnovers, the Plainsmen would be able to stay one step ahead of Bayard. They did so with sharp shooting from the free-throw line by Foster, who garnered 4 points, with Wykert tossing in a field-goal and Tjaden contributing 1 point from the free-throw line. It would be a enough to allow the Plainsmen to take the win.  

“I give credit to Bayard. They shot the ball really well the second half and played good defense,” Kraus said.  

Kraus also praised his team for shoring things up in overtime. 

“We had a little bit better defense and got key rebounds and free throws (in overtime),” he said. “We went back to doing what we do. We just need to work on consistency and being able to sustain effort for 32 minutes” 

For the game, it was Wykert leading in points with 19, followed by Garner with 17, Foster, 14, Potts, 5, Kroeker, 3, and Tjaden, 1.  

For assists, it was Potts and Wykert each with 5, Kroeker and Garner each with 2, and Tjaden with 1.  

Next Action 

The Plainsmen will take on Maywood/Hayes Center Thursday, Feb. 17 in Maywood with JV starting at 5 p.m. Subdistricts will begin Monday, Feb. 20. Time and location are yet to be determined.